DIY Survival Kit (In A Bottle!)

Worried the world is going to end, you get stuck on a desert island, or {insert natural disaster here} ruins your city and you have to survive on your own? Then you need to quick – while there is still an Internet – build your own portable survival kit. The following guide will help you put together some essentials so you can survive in an emergency.

Lexan Wide Mouth Bottle
This bottle will serve two purposes. The first and most obvious is as a drinking bottle. Its second and more creative use is as secure storage for non-liquid items that you would like to keep safe, waterproofed, and away from damage. These things are virtually indestructible and virtually waterproof when sealed tightly, so almost everything in your survival kit will go in here.

Swedish Firesteel
Fire has been essential to humankind’s survival since we first harnessed its power. There are some nice windproof matches available that would fit nicely inside your survival kit, but even if you fill the thing completely with matches, you won’t get the 12,000 strikes you will from a single set of Swedish firesteel – and it takes up much less space. I don’t own any of this myself (yet!), but I’ve seen it used and I can tell you right now that this would be a life saver if you need to start a fire in the wind and/or rain.

Leatherman Multitool
Just as essential as having fire is having a good knife. A knife that can also serve as a pliers, saw, wire cutter, bottle opener, and much more is certainly a must-have for any survival kit. There are dozens of different brands of multitools out there with probably hundreds of models, but Leatherman reigns king when it comes to quality. Most of the small to medium sized models will fit in your survival bottle without issue, but make sure to get one that does.

Hand Warmers
The purpose these serve in your survival is obvious – they warm your hands. They can, however, also warm your feet or just about anything else. Stick a few packs of these in there for when you aren’t near the fire.

Band Aids
For when you cut yourself. Get a variety of sizes for different types of wounds. You’ll probably want to take them out of the box to better utilize the space in your survival bottle.

Mylar Blanket
This blanket isn’t made out of fabric, it’s made of foil-like material called mylar. When wrapped in it, it can reflect up to 90% of your body heat back to you, so you can stay warm in the coldest climates.

Compass
It always helps to know where you’re going, so get a decent quality compass. Most hand held compasses will fit in your survival bottle without any issues, so if you’re wandering around lost, you won’t have to wait until dark and rely on the north star.

Rain Poncho
If you’re going to survive the apocalypse, you’re going to need to stay dry when it rains. The easiest way to stay dry is to wear a cheap plastic bag with a hood, also known as a poncho.

Emergency Radio
This is the only thing so far that you will not be able to cram in to your lexan bottle, but many of the radios have a strap so you can easily attach it to the bottle. There are plenty of models available, so choose one with features you like and think you’ll need, but I highly suggest one that has a hand crank for self powering. Some even offer a small solar panel so it can be charged by the sun. You certainly want one that offers AM/FM radio frequencies, but many also offer emergency weather frequencies or UHF/VHF audio. This is essential in helping you find safety with living humans in the case of an alien attack, zombie uprising, or artificially intelligent robots take over the planet. Also, it can be handy to find out the weather forecasts during a storm.

The above items are all essential survival tools, but there are a few extras that you might also consider getting, such as tea light candles, batteries, a mirror (for signaling), weatherproof matches, and probably plenty more things that I’m forgetting. Know something else that you feel belongs in this list? Leave a comment and tell me about it.